§ 34. Mr. GILBERTasked the Home Secretary whether the Desborough Committee on police pay is still in existence; whether it has made any Report to his Department; if so, if he proposes to take any action thereon; if its Report will be circulated to Members of the House; and, if so, when?
Mr. HENDERSONI received from the Committee on Tuesday a communication which, with the permission of the House, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the communication:
§ To the Right Hon. ARTHUR HENDERSON, M.P., His Majesty's Secretary of State for the Home Department, and the Right Hon. WILLIAM ADAMSON, M.P., Secretary for Scotland.
§ SIRS,
§ 1. In pursuance of our appointment, dated the 27th July, 1923, by your predecessors, we have held five meetings; we have heard evidence from Mr. A. L. Dixon, C.B., C.B.L., Assistant Secretary of the Home Office, and Sir Leonard Dunning and Major-General L. W. Atcherley, C.M.G., C.V.O. (His Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary for England and Wales) reviewing the steps taken on our previous Report and the main developments affecting the conditions of service of the police which have taken place since that Report was presented.
§ 2. We consider that the general economic conditions are extremely unsettled at the present time, and that the question of the rise or fall of industrial wages is most uncertain. Inasmuch, therefore, as it must be unsettling to any service to have repeated re-visions of their rates of pay, we 1587 are of opinion that it is not an opportune moment for disturbing an arrangement come to so recently.
§ 3. In these circumstances we feel that no useful purpose would be served by our continuing the inquiry, and ask that our reference may be discharged.
§ 4. We further desire to point out that if occasion should arise hereafter for review of the conditions of service of the police, appropriate machinery for dealing with such questions would appear to exist in the Police Councils which have now been constituted on the lines we recommend in our previous Report, and which, we understand, have already dealt with the question of the police bonus, raised by the Police Federation, and the measures for securing certain economies in police expenditure recommended by the Geddes Committee.
§ 5. In conclusion we desire to express our warm appreciation of the assistance which we have received from our Secretary, Mr. J. H. Burrell.
§ We have the honour to be,
§ Sirs,
§ Your obedient Servants,
§ DESBOROUGH (Chairman).
§ GORELL.
§ F. D. BLAKE.
§ H. CRAIK.
§ JAMES O'GRADY.
§ JAMES REMNANT.
§ JAS. SEXTON.